At a meeting of the Loxwood Parich Council (LPC) last week we were informed of the content of the draft Chichester District Council (CDC) Local Plan. This includes a consultation phase with regards to the allocation of a further 125 houses in the parish.

I am horrified that my local District Council, to which I pay just under £3,000 per annum, could seriously wish to proceed with this building allocation proposal. My comments are as follows:

- Housing Allocation: It would seem that the allocation of further housing in this part of the county has not been based on careful planning (traffic, sewage, schooling, public transport etc.) but solely on the response received from developers in the area. So you find yourselves in the embarrassing situation where Loxwood has been allocated 125 houses while Wisborough Green has 25 and Ifold/Plaistow have none. There is no record that the parishes were consulted and neither has there been any effort made to share the housing burden between the parishes. What a great way to plan......the numbers add up so let's go ahead before anyone notices.....no time consuming planning! In today's world this is just not acceptable.

- Loxwood Sewage: It is a well known fact that the Loxwood sewage system is already at capacity even without all 60 current houses being build coming on-line. Southern Water have confirmed that they have no plans to update infrastructure in their 2020/2025 plans. Already the sewage from the new houses on the Loxwood Green development is currently going into huge holding tanks (septic tanks?). These will need to be emptied by tankers full of raw sewage from 60 homes?

It is quite clear that this plan for 125 new houses in Loxwood does not meet the tests of sustainability defined in the draft Local Plan. Neither has the CDC followed the national planning guidance in the preparation of the draft Local Plan.